This Fleeting World
by I Was Here Moments Ago
Summary: They had come from the depths of space, and they had come to destroy. Remus and Sirius are caught in an extraterrestrial attack on London. AU. SB/RL.


Thanks to Embla and Ruth for reading through this for me.

* * *

When they came they took everything.

The sky had gone dark and the air had become thick with smoke and they had clung on to each other's hands, terrified of losing one another. If they went down as he knew they eventually would, they went down together.

Sirius knew where they were headed, grateful to be gripping Remus's hand as he led them both through the crowd. They'd discussed this after the attack in New York. They had a plan. That didn't separate them from the rest of the city, though, running around in every direction hoping they knew better than everyone else, hoping their own hiding place would save them, hoping they were the ones out of reach. They were helpless. Tiny. Sirius looked back, just for a glimpse of Remus's face. The dust was so thick he couldn't even see him an arm's length away.

Their hearing soon became just as useless as their sight and their ragged inhales as screams filled the air, agonised and terrified; those inside the buildings which had been knocked down had had a lucky escape, in a way. But only ever in a way. Remus was still holding on tightly to Sirius's wrist so now was no time to be giving up, even if breathing was becoming increasingly difficult.

Sirius hadn't been the only one to think of going underground and he'd been sure the entrances would be guarded, but as he approached, breathless, he saw he'd been wrong. While people _were_ being hit by flashes of light running to the stairs, they had placed no guards on the ground. There were some overhead instead, and it took Sirius a moment before he realised why they were being given a chance.

It was _sport_.

They had come from the depths of space according to the news and the government and the scientists, and they had come to destroy. Revenge upon the race which had shown no pity to their fallen when a small ship had crashed in the Sahara. Scientists had done nothing to help the two creatures they'd found barely alive in the wreckage, instead dissecting and exploiting them. And he supposed, as humanity had shown no respect for them, they were being shown no respect in return. Chased and slaughtered, hunted and made to run for their lives. Sirius almost pitied them, almost respected them for taking such drastic measures to avenge their dead. Almost.

Remus had decided to take charge, it seemed, already pulling on Sirius's arm and dragging him to the stairs that would lead them to their refuge. He didn't know how but Remus seemed to know where the lights would hit, expertly avoiding them numerous times before they joined the thicker crowd of people at the entrance, limiting where Remus could lead them to avoid being electrocuted or whatever the fuck it was those lights did. Sirius couldn't tell how he was doing it and right now he didn't care, as long as he carried on. He gripped his hand tighter.

He couldn't breathe.

Bodies pressed in on him from all sides, keeping him upright when he almost tripped over the mangled corpses of the unfortunate - or fortunate, depending on one's perspective. He could barely move his legs to keep stumbling onwards but the air was getting easier to gulp down and the easier it got, the less he felt like his lungs would burst or his limbs were breaking and he realised - they'd made it down.

He staggered forwards, choking and gulping down the clean air, Remus pulling him to the corner of the almost impossibly empty platform, not once looking back. Sirius couldn't take his eyes off the entrance, though, watching people get struck down. How had so few made it through?

How had_ they_?

"Sirius," Remus said quietly, his voice shaking. "Did you see them? Up there?"

Sirius shook his head, still spluttering. "Who?" he managed to choke out. Remus hesitated, and patted Sirius's back, remaining silent until he'd managed to even his breathing out somewhat.

He bit his lip before he spoke, looking pale even in the darkness. "James and Lily. I never - I'm not _supposed_-"

"James and Lily what?" Sirius interrupted Remus before he could start rambling. His brain still felt too foggy for that.

Remus paused and Sirius knew, feeling dread settle in his stomach. He gripped Remus tighter, feeling sick. "James and Lily _what_?" he repeated, because he didn't give a shit what he _knew_, he was _wrong_. They'd be down here in a minute with baby Harry. And they'd be okay and they'd make it through this. They could move to the country, away from the attacks, they'd be safe. They'd be _safe_.

Remus never said a word as he leaned forward and kissed Sirius, not seeming to care that Sirius wasn't kissing him back, still too _numb, _feeling too much of everything and nothing all at the same time to even realise what was going on, what that kiss was. What it meant. "I'm sorry," Remus whispered as he pulled away. "You'll be safe, I promise. _They_ were meant to be safe. They _were_. I-"

Sirius tried to listen, couldn't make sense of what Remus was saying. He shook his head. "You're talking shit," he muttered.

"I know, I know. I just... I know what you're like. Just stay here. Don't go looking for- for _anything_ because they'll hurt you."

At the time, the words had blurred together and he'd almost forgotten them by the time Remus had kissed him again, and Sirius had reached up to him, touched his face and felt wet. He remembered asking him whether he was bleeding or crying, but Remus hadn't answered, he'd just kissed him harder and clung on tighter. Sirius remembered the light, dull at first, and he thought the electricity had come back, the attacks were over. But it kept getting brighter, until it was almost blinding and he had to squeeze his eyes shut, let go of Remus to shield himself against it. The screams were back, but each one got cut short, agonised and horrifying for a few seconds before ending abruptly. He'd reached out for Remus once more, felt his fingers brush his shoulder before there was a sharp pain in the back of his head and he'd lost consciousness, and when he woke up Remus was gone. Everything was gone.

He doesn't remember much of after, though. Not directly after, anyway. He does know that one ship had crashed, dropping out of the sky into the ocean. They'd found out later it had been out of fuel and they'd salvaged the wreckage and built their own from that.

They were at war, now, and their side was going to fight back.

Sirius had signed up, of course. He'd be fighting on the front lines. But he wasn't fighting for his planet.

He was fighting for his world. The one they'd snatched from right under his feet when they'd come, when they'd taken his home and his friends and his lover. They'd never found Remus's body, which, as far as Sirius was concerned, meant he was still out there.

He would fly into the stars and he would find him and he'd take down as many of those bastards as he could until he did.

When he came, he'd take everything.


End file.
